Encampment continues at UNC Chapel Hill; arrests reported at Virginia Tech

Dozens of people idled at an encampment protest at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Monday. Students and other community members sat on blankets chatting while another small group sat around a woman dancing with a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf. The tents were set up Sunday after a march urging the university to divest from Israel.

Elsewhere, a protest at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg resulted in 82 arrests, including 53 students, a university spokesperson said Monday.

Protesters began occupying the lawn of the graduate life center Friday, the university said in a statement. The gathering violated university policy, the university said, but was a “safe and peaceful environment” over much of the weekend.

After protesters took further steps to occupy the lawn and outdoor spaces next to a nearby student center Sunday, the university said the situation “had the increasing potential to become unsafe” and advised those gathered to disperse. Those who failed to comply were warned they would be charged with trespassing, the university said.

Read updates from other U.S. campuses

Vish Gill, a frequent speaker and leader of chants at pro-Palestinian protests is arrested as police shut down an encampment on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, April 28 2024. Colleges around the U.S. implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday. (Payton Williams/The Roanoke Times via AP)

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Students work on assignments and listen to organizers as they sit inside the encampment protest in Polk Place on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., on Monday, April 29, 2024. A police sweep of the encampment was rumored to occur the night before, but it did not happen. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

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